Game On!
by Gib
Summary: Answer to scene Dlwells51 said she'd like to see. It wasn't so much a prompt as just a brief mention. I decided to run with it. Set in Afghanistan after Mac Jack.


This is just a little something for Dlwells51, she mentioned the other day that she would like to see a particular scene. I figured I'd oblige. Anybody else want to jump on this prompt, I'm sure she'd love it. Hope I did your scene justice Dl... -Gib-

Thanks to Objessions for giving this a once over, fixing my punctuation and adding a line or two, or ten here and there. Can't thank you enough.

Takes place in cannon after the episode Mac + Jack.

Warnings: None

 _Prompt: It'd be great to have them arguing about who's going where and when and Jack haul off and clock Mac then toss him over his shoulder and take him where he said he should go. Then drop him in a heap and Mac looks up at him, rubbing his chin, "What the hell Jack?"_

 **AFGHANISTAN**

Mac dipped his head to the side, wiping his face on his sleeve. The head band he typically wore under his helmet had been soaked hours ago.

"Dude, how much longer, man?" he heard in his ear.

Sighing, he looked in Jack's general direction, not knowing exactly where the Delta sniper was at in the building down the street, but knowing he was in a position to see everything in detail through the scope.

He gave a frustrated shake of the head and accompanying eye roll.

"Jack, it's going to take as long as it's going to take, so stop asking."

He turned back to the pile of wires he'd been working on for the better part of the day.

"In case you haven't figured it out, I'm trying to concentrate here. It's like they raided a Radio Shack and decided to use every component known to man."

"Who cares what it's made out of, man? Is it going to blow up or not? For all you know, it's some kid's freaking school project. It's not like they got a lot of other stuff to play with around here," Jack added.

"Concentrating, Jack ... Remember?" Mac answered.

Jack shook his head, looking up from the scope to send a glare down the alley toward Mac before scrunching his face and mimicking Mac's words childishly under his breath. _"I'm trying to concentrate here."_ Jack rubbed sweat from his eyes. _"What the hell you think I'm doing, just puttin' my feet up and enjoying this sauna of a damn day?"_

Jack stuck his tongue out with an adolescent sneer toward Mac before settling behind the rifle once more.

He sighted in on the suspected IED/possible kindergarten project Mac was currently working on and adjusted the rifle just slightly to the right, planting the crosshairs center mass on the young EOD's hunched over form, just for a split second.

 _"I'm sorry, sir, I have no idea what happened to him,"_ Jack mumbled out of the side of his mouth, before moving the rifle, resuming his routine of scanning the surrounding area for threats.

"I saw that," Mac said over the comms.

"Saw what?" Jack asked defensively, raising his head looking in Mac's direction.

"What you just did. It's childish, Jack."

"Which part?" Jack asked as he shifted uncomfortably and looked around the roof top he was currently perched on. Then he realized he just almost gave himself away to his partner and stilled. "You didn't see a damn thing, cuz I didn't do nothin', and you couldn't see me anyway, even if I did."

Mac smirked. He knew he had Jack's goat the minute the older man began to deny doing anything, strictly based on his defensive tone. "Of course I can, and I told you before, you're a crappy liar, Jack."

Jack's teeth ground together as he resumed his sweep of the area. "I am not. I'm a great liar and you know it."

"Are not, and just so you know, even if you were, that's not something to be proud of, Jack."

"Whatever, dude. I can prove I'm a good liar."

"How?"

"Mac, I did not do anything of any sort that you may or may not think you saw me do or not do," Jack said with complete confidence.

Mac's brow knitted, as he tried to follow Jack's logic. His eyes just rolled again, as he slowly stripped another wire. "Jack that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

Jack rested his cheek against the stock of the rifle and smiled, sighting in on the small group of local women that had been sitting down in front of a residence since the duo had arrived.

"Yeah, but am I lyin'?" he asked distractedly, counting heads.

Mac shook his head, letting a small laugh escape. "Jack, sometimes I think _you_ don't even know if you're lying." Mac thought for a moment. "Wait, is this the Dalton version of the Liar Paradox?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jack answered, now more fully distracted by observing the locals.

Hearing the change in Jack's voice, Mac asked, "Everything okay?"

Jack concentrated on the group of women, studying body language, looking for any sign that they were anything but what they appeared to be. "Maybe. Look, this has been a great debate and all, but one of the ladies has left the bridge club without so much as a goodbye wave."

Jack glanced at his watch, then resumed scanning the area, alert to anything out of the ordinary. "How much longer, Mac? I missed her leaving and have no idea where she went. My spidey senses are sayin' we need to git."

Mac carefully traced another wire back to yet another expended blasting cap that went nowhere. "Jack, I told you, it's going to take as long as it takes. This one doesn't make any sense. There are wires going to nothing, some going to resistors, some to blasting caps, some twisted, other's soldered, and some with electrical tape. It's like this guy was trying a little bit of everything and I don't know why," he rapid fired. He hated not knowing 'why' and his frustration was evident in his clipped tone.

Jack nodded his head in annoyance waiting for Mac to take a breath, so he could get a word in.

"Dude, it doesn't matter why, it's probably damn kids playing terrorist. We've already been here too long and I for one would like to get the hell outa here." Jack continued to scan the area, stopping once again on the group of women, watching as another one left the table.

Unlike the first one he missed, he followed this one as far as he could, keeping the cross hairs set center mass as she disappeared down the alley.

"Relax, Jack, intel says this area's friendly," Mac countered.

Jack harrumphed, "Yeah right, I'll put that on your headstone. Here lies Mac, the worlds slowest EOD, killed by the friendliest people." Jack sat up, keeping his eyes on the group while expertly collapsing the bipod legs on his rifle and stowing the gear he'd unpacked. "That's it kid, I'm calling it. We're out. Pack your stuff, I'm comin' down."

Mac looked toward the building Jack had set up at. "Jack, I'm not leaving until I figure this out," he said, annoyed.

Mac waited for an answer but all he heard was a few grunts, followed by random words like EOD, Mac, kid, and something that sounded like several expletives all mashed into one word.

Mac shook his head and went back to work on the wire mess, so engrossed in what he was doing, when the sunlight disappeared, he didn't even look up to see what was casting a shadow. He simply pulled out his flashlight and continued to work.

A minute passed before his brain registered the Army issue boot tapping the dirt faster than a hummingbird's wings could flap, and stopped as he squinted up at one very sweaty, very pissed off Delta operator.

"Dude! Do you have any freaking idea how lucky you are that I'm not a bad guy?" Jack looked around nervously. "You'd be dead right now and I'd have to level this place." He ground out as he squatted down to get eye-level with Mac, cradling the rifle in the crook of his arms.

Mac shook his head and gave Jack an eye roll. "Come on, Jack, just because a few ladies decided sitting at a table for ..." he checked his watch, "Four hours, is long enough, and maybe it's time to ... Oh, I don't know, go cook dinner, or use the bathroom," Mac waved his hands around indicating the empty streets. "It doesn't mean they're planning something diabolical."

Jack stood and stepped back, eyes still scanning every nook and cranny that could hide all things deadly. "Well, excuse me for trying to keep your skinny ass alive. Along with, you know, yours' truly." He thumbed his chest. "I swear to God Mac, you've got one minute before I drag your ass back to the hummer and we blow this pop stand, so throw a block of C-4 on that rats' nest of wires, light it on fire and melt the shit."

Mac had to shield his eyes from the sun that was no longer being blocked by Jack's bulk.

"Jack, whoever made this thing is on a whole different level. I need to figure this out, so you go ahead and go find another perch or whatever and let me do this." He pointed to the ground, the determination etched on his face. "I'm staying right here, and that's final."

Jack inhaled a calming lung full of air. Sometimes his young partner didn't know what was good for him. "Mac, you haven't found any explosives other than blasting caps. You don't even know what's goin' on in this thing. You admitted it. Let's just go, or so help me ..." Jack tried his standard combination of reason plus threat. All it got him was an eyeroll.

Mac turned his back to Jack and continued to trace another wire, completely shutting the older man out. "No."

Jack took one last look around, catching movement down the street. Someone had suddenly ducked around a corner just before Jack could get a good look at them.

He knew he was being a bit overprotective of the young EOD, and he had every confidence in the kid's ginormous brain but, ever since they'd entered the small town, Jack had the feeling they were being watched.

He couldn't find any sign or evidence, and they hadn't been bothered by so much as a dog. But that feeling never really went away. It was like a mosquito buzzing in his ear. He'd had enough.

Jack raised his rifle, using the scope to get a better look at the spot where he'd seen movement. There wasn't anything there. He did one last sweep before staring at the back of Mac's helmeted head.

The EOD was completely ignoring the fact that Jack was standing over him and just kept going about his business, mumbling to himself.

Jack shoved his rifle around to his back, laying his hand on his sidearm just to make sure it was still accessible.

"Mac, I'm giving you one last chance to pick your crap up and get movin'."

Mac shrugged his shoulders and pointed toward the humvee without looking up. "Go, Jack, I'll be fine," he said distractedly.

Jack flexed his neck from side to side, the audible pops sounding like firecrackers in his ears. "Fine, huh, not going anywhere ... Stubborn little …" Jack stretched his shoulders. "Well, kid, don't say I didn't warn you."

He leaned down and tapped Mac on the shoulder.

Mac dropped his head and sighed his frustration out in a long breath. He needed to concentrate and his talkative partner was not helping.

"Look, Jack I told you..."

As he looked up, two things registered in a split second.

The first was that maybe he underestimated Jack's determination.

And the second was, "This is gonna hurt."

Jack didn't swing for the fences, he wasn't out to hurt Mac, just knock some sense into him maybe. Either that or just knock him silly for a few minutes. But, as it turned out, he'd hit Mac right on the button and the kid dropped like a rag doll.

Jack grabbed Mac by the shoulder straps of his vest and carefully laid him stretched out on his back next to the wall. He quickly surveyed the surrounding buildings and alley ways. "Sorry, buddy, but we have _got_ to go."

He straddled Mac and reached down grabbing the unconscious EOD by the front of the vest hauling him to a sitting position first then lifted until he had Mac standing pinned against the building.

Mac's head lolled to the side as Jack bent slightly grabbing Mac's right wrist with one hand while threading his other arm between the kid's legs, pulling him forward, ducking under Mac's arm, with a slight grunt, he scooped the young EOD up in a fireman's carry.

With his package secure, Jack bent over, careful not to drop his prized package, and grabbed Mac's pack.

He still couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, which only served to hasten his steps to their transport.

As he was getting Mac settled in the passenger's seat, trying to prop him up so the door didn't slam on the poor kid's head, Jack caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

Out of pure instinct, he ducked behind the door, pulling his rifle back to his front as three men stepped out of the shadows down the street. The fact that they were armed was obvious, but so far, they just let the rifles hang at their sides.

Jack, not wanting to provoke the men into doing something stupid, slowly shut Mac's door and gave it a shoulder shove to make sure it was secure.

Jack's eyes never left the men as he walked around the front of the vehicle towards the driver's door and reached for the handle. As soon as Jack pulled his door open, the three men raised their rifles but didn't fire.

Jack slowly slid into the driver's seat, eyes still focused on the men, as Mac began to stir. "Easy, Mac. We got us a situation here so just stay put alright, we're getting outa here."

Mac mumbled something unintelligible as Jack started the engine. The fact that they were now behind bullet-resistant glass didn't do anything to calm Jack's nerves as he contemplated trying to get out of the town in reverse which posed a host of problems, or take their chances and drive forward past the three men hoping they decided to play nice.

Mac reached up and rubbed his chin, obviously in charge of all his faculties as he started glaring at Jack. "Jack, what the hell! Are you crazy?! I told you I wasn't leaving, and you decide to sucker punch me?"

"They're called orders for a reason, kid," Jack bit out. He decided forward was a better option even though the three men still hadn't fired a shot, and put the Humvee in gear.

Mac, realizing they were going to leave, but still not understanding the situation, and at least a little furious with his partner's methods, grabbed his door handle with every intention of getting out.

Jack took his hand off his rifle and grabbed Mac by the vest, effectively stopping him. Which earned him another glare from Mac.

Jack let go and pointed toward the men. "We got bigger problems than that mess of wires you've been playing with all day."

Mac sat up straighter taking in the situation, not quite understanding why Jack's rifle was just resting on his lap and there were no new bullet marks on the windshield. "Have they done anything yet?"

Jack shook his head, adjusting the rifle in his lap, resting the barrel on the edge of the door. "I'd almost be happier if they did, at least that way I'd know what they're up to."

Mac studied the men. They looked like statues. Albeit very dangerous statues, but unmoving just the same. "What do you think they're waiting for?"

For the first time since the men showed up, Jack took his eyes off them to really look at Mac, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? They're probably waiting for their buddies to show up and turn us into Swiss cheese," he answered, as he started to pull forward, gripping the steering wheel with one hand while holding his rifle in the other. "I, for one, ain't waiting around to find out."

"Wait, Jack, what about all those wires?" Mac asked as he twisted in his seat and started to dig through his pack, thankful Jack didn't just leave it near the alcove.

"Jesus, kid, you're like a damn dog with a bone. Who cares about the wires, Mac? We got bigger problems here."

"I care. It's a bomb, Jack. My job is to get rid of it."

"And my job is to keep your skinny ass alive. You mind not making it so difficult every damned day?"

Mac ignored Jack's grumbling reply and returned to his seat. He pulled out his Swiss Army knife. "Hey, do me a favor and pull up next to the spot I was working will ya?" he asked, pressing a block of C-4 still in its foil wrapping against the dash and began to cut it into smaller blocks.

"What? Are you nuts, dude?" Jack asked, even as he started to steer toward the small alcove where Mac had spent the better part of a day working on the wire mess.

Mac smiled, holding out his hand. "I need your lighter."

"Use yours, I'm a bit busy here if you haven't noticed," Jack answered lifting the rifle in his lap.

Mac rolled his eyes and reached across the cab and pulled Jack's zippo from the front of his vest. "Relax, you'll get it back... Probably." Mac smirked as he started to roll the C-4 blocks into pencil sized strings. "Alright, stop right here, I'll be right back."

Before Jack could protest, Mac opened his door and stepped into the alcove. "Mac! What the ..." Jack stopped mid-sentence as the three men started to walk forward.

Jack opened his door and stepped out, bringing his rifle up. "Mac, hurry up man, whatever you're doing we have _got_ to go," he said over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off the men. "We're about to have company."

Mac didn't answer, which only served to make Jack more tense. "Stranger danger, dude! Come on!"

Mac ducked as he exited the alcove and hopped back into his seat. "Alright, we can go now."

He smiled slightly.

Jack stood frozen for a second staring at Mac. "Oh really, so everything's okay. You sure you don't want to, oh, I don't know, take a stroll down the street introduce yourself to the neighbors maybe?"

Mac realized the men were moving forward. Rifles not exactly pointing at them but still oriented in their general direction. "Uh, no, Jack, I don't think they're going to like what I'm baking right now. It's not a nice welcome to the neighborhood, you know?"

Jack jumped in the driver's seat, adjusted his rifle, and started to pull forward, his hand flexing on both the steering wheel and the weapon.

Mac sat, tense, watching the men as they closed the distance.

As the Humvee got within twenty feet of the trio, the men stepped to the side, slightly lowering their rifles.

Jack kept the same slow speed as they passed, rifle raised, aiming in their general direction.

It wasn't until the men were well in the rear view that Mac and Jack let out the breath they were holding.

"Well, that was ..." Jack paused glancing at Mac.

"Weird, intense, not at all what I expected," Mac finished as he turned to look back at the small town. "What do you suppose they were doing?"

Jack shook his head. "I have no idea, but they had every opportunity to ventilate you, dude. What in the hell were you thinking … and where's my damn lighter?"

Mac patted his vest pockets and shrugged. "Sorry, man, must've left it back there."

"Seriously, man? Doing what exactly?" Jack asked, speeding up.

"Taking care of the suspected IED is what." Mac pulled his Swiss Army knife out and began to scrape off the small bits of C-4 stuck to the blade.

"And pray tell how did you do that so fast? I thought you said it was going to take a while." Jack asked, glancing toward Mac.

"Actually, what I said was it would take as long as it would take. If you stayed on overwatch and let me do my job, I might have been able to figure out what exactly we were dealing with. But instead, you decided you had to go all paranoid and knock me out." Mac turned in his seat resting his arm on the back of the driver's seat. "So, I went with your idea."

Jack's brow creased. "My idea? My idea was to leave an hour ago, not stop off for coffee or whatever it is you did in there while the three amigos were deciding on whether they wanted to kill us or not."

Mac let a small laugh escape. "C-4, fire, melting wires ... Any of that ring a bell?"

Realization hit Jack and he smiled. "So, all that big ole brain power you got going on and you decided to go with the Jack Dalton method of IED disposal and stayin in one piece?" Jack winked, "Stick around, kid, I might be able to teach you a thing or two."

Mac smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, Jack but I think I'll pass," he rubbed his jaw. "Your teaching methods are a bit painful."

Jack glanced down. "Yeah, about that, I'm sorry man, I just ..." Jack sighed frustrated, unable to come up with the right words at the moment. The thought of losing the kid was what kept him up most nights but damned if he could just tell the kid what he meant to him.

Jack looked up at Mac and found the blue eyes staring at him expectantly.

"Look, if it'll make you feel any better, when we get back to the base, you can have a free shot." Jack pointed at his own chin.

Mac smirked and shook his head.

"I gotta warn you though, us Daltons have never been known to have a glass jaw. Wouldn't want you to break your hand or anything ya know."

Mac smiled mischievously. "No, Jack, I don't want to hit you back. That's so third grade. You said it yourself, how'd you put it? Big ole brain power?"

Mac playfully slapped Jack on the shoulder. "Stick around, old man, I might be able to teach you a thing or two about the MacGyver method of keeping impulsive, overly protective, paranoid Delta operators from ever punching their partners again."

At the nervous swallow and looks he was getting from his partner, Mac settled into his seat and smiled.

-The End-

A/N: Well, there it is. It feels like forever since I've even entertained the idea of writing anything. I will eventually get back to my G.I. Mac and Jack series but it's going to be a while. Real life has been keeping me busy, is a colossal understatement.

For those of you who have been writing your little fingers off while I've been M.I.A., Haven, Ridley, Poxelda, Girl... and everyone else in the fandom. Sorry I've been absent, I'll catch up eventually. ;-)

Btw, FF gave me freakin fits trying to load this, so I know I'm rusty. :-)

-Gib-


End file.
